Spanish Developer To Invest 500m Euro In Residential Property Near Sofia

The Bulgarian residential property market still has a potential to grow, Nikolina Nikolova, CEO of the Bulgarian arm of Hercesa International, said during a news conference on September 1 2008 at the Hilton Hotel. Nikolova's statement contradicted the tone set at the general discussion with real estate agency executives, that the market is near saturation.Nikolova announced plans of the Spanish developer to invest 500 million euro in the building of a gated residential property along the road between Sofia and Pernik. The land plot is within close proximity to the Sofia boroughs of Gorna Banya, Ovcha Koupel and Zapaden Park.The company intends to build a railway station within the estate compound, which will allow residents to commute easily to either Sofia or Pernik. As of now, there is an existing station where a train passes every half an hour, but the company wishes to shorten the interval to 15 minutes, Nikolova said. She also said that municipality building permission had already been obtained.Nikolova said that the company had 33 years of experience on the international property market, and what differentiated it from the rest was the quality of its product."The most important feature for us is securing an adequate infrastructure, together with a sense of security for our clients," she said.Asked about the recent media buzz regarding the property market crisis in Spain and how Hercesa International would gain the trust of its future clients, Nikolova answered that the company was not a typical Spanish investor and developer. She added that, on the board of directors, there were representatives of five major Spanish banks, which, according to Nikolova, meant financial stability.The project features more than 2000 apartments with a total living area of 240 000 sq m. Prices will vary between 800 and 1100 euro a sq m, Nikolova said, and added that the first building phase should be completed by the end of 2010. Completion of the entire project is expected by 2016.A full presentation of the project will be ready for the upcoming real estate exposition BalPEx, which will be held October 10 to 12 in Sofia.Hercesa International has investments in Romania, Portugal and the Czech Republic, among others.